The present invention relates to medical dressings or medical garments for use on patients who have had gastrostomy procedure. More particularly, the invention is directed to a flexible belt-shape garment for use around the torso of a person requiring feeding means such as a gastrostomy tube or G-tube, in order to provide storing, protection and safety to the said feeding means and the area surrounding the same.
Gastrostomy is a well know surgical procedure performed on patients that temporarily or permanently require to be fed directly through a tube connected to the stomach. Among the reasons requiring a patient to be subjected to a gastrostomy procedure are conditions such as birth defects of the mouth, esophagus or stomach. Similarly, other patients requiring the said procedure are those suffering from conditions such as neuromuscular conditions that cause people to eat very slowly due to the shape of their mouth or a weakness affecting their chewing and swallowing muscles as well as obstructions of the stomach outlet into the small intestine caused by different reasons such as peptic ulcers or tumor.
The main objective of the gastrostomy process is the insertion of the feeding means through the abdomen wall and into the stomach via an external opening called stoma. Generally speaking, the feeding means comprises a feeding tube, known as G-tube, through which food or nutrients are introduced to the patient's stomach and through which fluids may also be vented from the patient's stomach.
Among the risks of the procedure are the infections, bleeding and accidental dislodgment of the tube. Thus, there is a need to maintain the G-tube and the stoma area clean, protected and manageable. It would be helpful and advantageous to provide a cover belt-shape and flexible garment having three security measures to store, hide and protect the G-tube and stoma area of the patient once it is wrapped around the patient's torso. It would be further advantageous to provide a belt like garment that is made of soft, flexible materials, easy to wear, inexpensive, washable and reusable.